It’s been a busy week that felt long which is always the worst. The highlight of the week though was having someone’s blood dripping from their mouth onto my counter. Shortly thereafter I sent a love letter to Plexiglass inventor, Otto Röhm.

I experienced gastro euphoria for lunch on Thursday which could have very well redeemed my week because good food tends to fix everything. There are bright sides to working in the Downtown East Side and that’s being so close to Gastown. For my visiting readers from cities aplenty please forget not to experience Gastown if you’re in the neighbourhood. Then find The Black Frog and call me, damn it.

I overhauled my living room last weekend (which is really two weekends ago now, this has taken me that long to write). This will be my fifth arrangement since October 2007. I’m not sure how normal that is but normal doesn’t usually apply to me anyway so I’m not going to worry. 

I did acquire a new piece of furniture as well and that is a big, IKEA Billy shelving unit with glass doors that Gg handed down to yours truly. Ghetto me could never afford such a thing brand new so hookups are nice. Now that I think about it, this may have all started when I sold my IKEA Benno shelves on Craigslist. For approx 5 nights 140 DVDs and probably an equal amount of CDs were actually taking up space on my living room floor. If you know me then you know how devastating this disorganization was to me. At the same time, those who know me will also know that it makes perfect sense that I sell the shelves on a whim without any sort of plan regarding where the DVDs and CDs will go when the shelves are actually sold. I lament the disorganization I bring upon myself. Go figure.

So to recover from this not-very-well-thought-out situation that was my living room, I reorganized, shuffled, and rearranged my furniture just to prove something to myself. As a side note, I never feel wholeheartedly lonely because I seem to be perpetually in a state of autonomous interaction with my conflicting personality idiosyncrasies. In this case it was the impractical visionary vs the disciplinary and the end result, fittingly, was a living room I love and one that so far Cathy and Gg are not so fond of. It only makes perfect sense.

What do you make of it:

Here’s why I like it:

1. Previously my computer was against the wall behind where it is now. I faced … the wall. Again, for those who know me, they know I can’t face walls – especially in restaurants – and while also sitting at my computer desk. It’s not claustrophobia, it’s neurosis. 

2. I like feeling cozy and workstations are sometimes hard to make cozy. But tell me you wouldn’t curl up into a ball right on top of my desk now and fall asleep there.

3) I spend most of my reading, scheming, escaping, daydreaming, and playing crossword puzzles on that there sofa. There’s something very tranquil about lying down on it and having those wide open windows in front of me. Previously they were behind me and what kind of purpose does that serve? None other than to make me wonder what’s going on in the world. Pointless; I need to know everything at all times.

4) Other than three glasses of red wine, Gravol, or Coronation Street, there is not much else that turns my mind off other than flames from a fire with a flavouring of José Feliciano from the vinyl.

Oh come on, you appreciate the effect and secretly wish you were sitting in my living room too.

5) The wall that now stands to support my books, DVDs, and CDs is the only wall long enough to keep them together as a family. 

And with that I will not justify my logic any longer. You will either enjoy it, dislike it, or not really give a shit either way so there really isn’t much more to discuss. 

I’ve now been composing this post for two weeks and four days. My new year’s resolution really should have been to finish my blog posts in a reasonable time frame…

Last weekend Mandy bunny and I made a fairly spontaneous plan to go to Whistler. The last time I was there they had the peak express lift closed because it was miserable and torrential. But this time, although it wasn’t a clear day, the snow conditions were probably the best I’ve skied in my 22 years of skiing. It was abundant and frigging fast and this is perfection to me.

In the words of whistlerblackcomb.com: “Whistler’s Peak Express offers some of the planet’s most rugged high alpine.” Now tell me that doesn’t send a shiver down your spine in all the right ways. We reached the peak and were submerged in heavy clouds. It was blustery and dark making the ground impossible to decipher from the atmosphere. I’d be lying if I said we weren’t scared shitless and that’s simply because when you’re on a sharp decline and you can’t see even ten feet ahead of you, you’re pulling guts from areas other than the pit of your stomach. In fact we were stealing guts from each other. We swore the whole way down to the first ridge and upon survival we masochistically wanted to do it all over again just for the thrill of it.

Isn’t Mandy the cutest thing?

On one of our lift rides we started talking about what the hills in Ottawa were like. Myself, I learned to ski at Edelweiss in Gatineau. We thought of all our favourite hills and how sadly they pale in comparison to what we are so lucky to have here. Just to put it into perspective, I did some quick calculations and came up with this very roughly scaled example of how Edelweiss might compare to Whistler. Technically speaking, Whistler has a top elevation of 2,182 metres compared to Edelweiss’s 350 metres. 

I mean, check out this vista:

Whistler © Andrea C.

Oh, am I bragging? Sorryyy.

What else is new…

Oh yes, here’s the car that’s going to replace my Ford Fo’ once my lease is up. Thirteen more days to go, by the way, and my last car payment comes out. Then I will be car-payment free. Free! Fr.EE! F|r|e|E! f:r/EE!

Cute isn’t it? Rando found me this little gem and I couldn’t be happier. I introduce you to my 1991 Civic Si.

Okay I will leave you with some Sunday Jammin’ Music on… yes, Thursday. This one’s solid for jammin’. Thievery Corporation – Un Simple Histoire

Please also enjoy with me this incredibly sexy photo of Johnny Depp.

I just bought an external HD to house my multitude of photos and videos. I’d been storing them on various USB keys, or scattered folders, or leaving them on the SD cards on my digi cams. It was silly, really.

So, there’s not really much to this post. Just some photos I found that I forgot I had, plus some recent ones. They include some of the good people in my Vancouver life.

I think photos are fun. Everyone should take photos…

Mike G and me at his C-mas Party

Here we have Gee and I from this summer gone by. We’re lying on the grass at English Bay on a beautiful clear, warm, and balmy summer day.

Halloween 2008. I showcase my costume – purchased entirely at Value Village for a grand total of $11.53 CDN.

A strange man:

Aw Cheezer

Granville Island – I happened upon some Afghan Hounds who graciously let me tickle their ears and braid their hair.

Because I love road trips so darn much, people spoil me. – Michael and I in Seattle one weekend in Aug.

T and Me at the Best of 604 Blog Awards this week …

Me and Muffin

Some girls have a weakness for purses and shoes. I indulge in ski gear. None of this was my intention, really. Actually wait, it was my intention – if it wasn’t then I’d not be in possession of these new … things.

My journey of adventurous spending started last year when I was in Comor Sports with my ski bunny and happened upon what, in my opinion, was Buddha in a ski jacket. It was an Orage (en français)  and the most profound and beautiful thing I had ever laid eyes on, it might as well have been the Wheel of Dharma. The problem? Attached to it was a price tag of a whopping five-hundred big ones. I gasped and demanded Mandy not let me try it on no matter how much of a screaming fight I put up. However, like all kids in a candy store I didn’t listen to neither her, nor myself and I slid my arms down the cool lining of the sleeves and they felt like silk sheets in a 5-star hotel. I zipped the jacket up and it hugged me in the kind of way I fantasize Christian Bale would in my wildest dreams. In other words, it was tight, and secure, and swallowed me whole.

Uh…

So anyway, much to my chagrin I felt my strength buckling as I once again demanded strength from Mandy but this time in the form of ‘by any means necessary’ … that if she saw that look on my face, that jacket reflecting in my pupils, that she was to immediately cease and desist all actions that were indicative of me acting in haste. That she was to be scrupulous for me. I told her that if I was displaying any indication of submission to the jacket that she was to drop kick me, pull it over my head, throw it in the air, and toss me out of the store.

I turned toward her, jacket on and I actually saw it reflecting in HER pupils. “DO NOT go to the mirror,” she ordered while trying to grab my arm. It was too late though and I shuffled as quickly as my little legs could carry me over to meet my reflection.

I could hear her running after me, “No, no, no!” She bellowed, “Don’t do it!” But it was too late. I was frozen, fixated on the way the jacket traced along my body and molded perfectly to my contours. Then the colours – chocolate brown, baby blue, beige, and white. “Oh fuck, Mandy…” “I think it was made for you, but I’ll kill you if you buy it.” We stood in the mirror conversing with each other’s reflections. I rationalised, she rebutted, we nearly fought, but in the end I triumphed and put the jacket onto the hanger with barely enough strength left to hang it back on the rack.

“It’ll be okay,” Mandy whispered. “You’ll be okay.” With that we left Comor.

I dreamed about that jacket for weeks. I checked for it on eBay almost every day. That damn thing was never anywhere … not anywhere EXCEPT at the store. Eventually, like all frivolous addictions to materialistic things the thought of it faded into a bittersweet memory and I went through winter with my existing jackets. Not too long after this, Mandy found me my dream skis on eBay and I got them for 1/4 of the MSP. They were also less than the price of my precious jacket and thus justified in my books! There was no way, no how I was going to do the BC hills on the same damn skis I used on the Ontario hills. What an insult that would be. So for the first time in my life I’m riding on skis that I imagine will be with me for years and years to come.

Wait, I have to scroll up to remind myself where I was going with this…

Oh yes, so anyway … recently I was taking part in one of my favourite pastimes of browsing through flyers and lo and motherfrigging behold there is my ex-lover … at a unfathomable 50% off! I called Comor immédiatement and sure enough all that was left was an XS and a S. “Oh god, put the small away right now! I’ll be there by 6PM. Put it under Andrea… please.” The associate laughed, kinda, and said it’d be waiting in the back for me.

I skip to my lou’d over to Comor at a brisk pace with a purpose and got there in under 30 minutes flat. The reunion was everything I expected it to be and my jacket hadn’t changed one bit. “Ooh, you’re so cute.” The associate remarked, and I said “I’m embarrassed, but thank you. I’m not usually this much of a loser.”

The transaction was over before you could say “As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where … where do they go? It’s Alaska. It’s just right over the border.”

This made me an instant three jacket girl, and I hung it proudly in my hall closet. To counteract this purchase, I have put my jackets up on Craigslist and have them basically sold, pending the prospective buyer trying them on for size.

Done. And done.

Next in the list is the beautiful boots I happened upon that were also, I might add, on sale just for yours truly. I had been wearing Rossignol Soft 3s for the last 4 or 5 years and although flexible and complementing of my skiing style, my toes were constantly crunched to the point where I would in fact wonder if they had actually died and fallen off inside my boots. This was less than satisfactory, in my opinion, but it has enabled me to practise my skiing skills in the untimely event that I do actually lose all my toes. On the other hand, the toes of the liners have been customized in such a way that I actually have ghettoes complete with the duct tape. Whatever eh?

So I came across some Salomon Mynx’ and I tell you, slipping into these puppies was like buttah. THESE are what ski boots are supposed to be like. The justification? Well I have my old boots sold, duct tape and all. Along with this purchase came a warm white Bula toque. Why? Well my ears would get cold in my other hat! I could not afford to lose my toes AND my earlobes. Jeesh.

Anyway, soon I’ll go down to just a one jacket, one pair of boots girl. I’ll be a 2 hat girl but this is no matter to me.

Thank you for your time.

I’m too …

… for my ski stuff.

Mandy, bunny, this post is for you – or for us to commemorate our first chairlift video debut ever. This weekend it will be even more fantastique. Put your pretty face on sugar, we’re making lotssss of movies.

J’aime skier particulièrement en mai.

I like to abbreviate.

My poor Mandy. She struggles with her assignment vs. going skiing with her ski bunny (that’s me by the way). Today, like last time, she was diligent and dedicated and told me she must finish her course before she even thought about skiing. Oh alright.

We did make the plan to head to Cypress – Our favourite local hill for afternoon skiing. I picked up Mandy, pretty as a peach in her makeup for the impending and inevitable photo shoot/video shoot that she’s learned to love. I knew she’d come around…

On the way to Cypress we picked up Russell. Russell is my ex-candidate whom I interviewed once for work. He’s a lovely British gentleman (I call him lovely because he likes that word) who likes to ski just as much as my bunny and I! So we took him on a little tour of the hills.

Unfortunately, due to poor planning on our part we got to Cypress, geared up, and marched our way to the hill just in time for the hills to be shut down. It was 4PM. Apparently we didn’t get the memo that Cypress closes early now that March Break is over. The guy shutting everything down wasn’t keen on giving us the keys so we could lock up when we were finished and that was OK. I guess…

Lucky for us, Mandy is up on the latest trends and used her pretty, girly Blackberry to see if Grouse was open and it was, and it was waiting for us according to Mandy. Needless to say we were très pleased. We were able to show Russell a good time after all.
(more…)

My Sunday started out in a lovely way. The sun seemed to squeeze through the clouds over my house for about half an hour and lit up my window frames with very pale yellow rays. The sounds of Stan Getz floated through my apartment and life seemed to be moving very slowly which is exactly the way I like my Sunday mornings to move.

Today was Mandy’s and my usual Ski Sunday. This time, however, dear Mandy made me wait 6 agonizing hours later than our usual 9AM ski time because someone had some course work to finish up.

Thankfully, my favourite Vancouver couple entertained me with a little hanging out time, a fun hike, and some really yummy chocolate chip cookies. They’re good to me. The friends I mean, not the chocolate chip cookies. Actually wait, you know … they’re both good to me. The hike, I should mention, was rather all-terrain, death-defying, and quite adventurous especially with Caesar – that handsome devil, he had the thickest pasties I’ve ever seen on a dog in a while, but he was so happy, protective and excited to lead the way, even if it meant climbing through the sticky mud.

After hike time, I head straight to pick up my trusty ski bunny. She was make-upped and looking super pretty, with tousled locks and lips as glossy as wet glass. She knows by now that any time spent with me means time spent with my digital camera so she presented herself accordingly.

I’m sure the tension is killing you because you know that today would have been my very first day on my new skis. It doesn’t really count that I wore them sleeping the last two nights in a row (serious?) – today was the real deal.

Unfortunately for our poor, delicate, girly faces, the hail storm at the top of Cypress was less than ideal. (Oh Mandy, your lips). I could probably compare it to the feeling of one-thousand safety pins being launched at your face at one time. Needless to say it was quite unpleasant and so bad that we actually skied straight down to the store to purchase some protection after the third run in tears and screaming for our mothers. Due to my face being in sensory overload I wasn’t able to fully appreciate my skis until run #4.

We purchased the protection, had a hot chocolate, and were back on the hills in full form. By this time, the snow had turned into the most graceful, fluffy, white blizzard. The hills were empty, and thick with blankets of snow .. no wait, comforters of snow; down-filled comforters of snow. It was the most beautiful thing next to Christian Bale I’ve ever seen …

Where was I?

My skis were truly a dream. Everything I hoped they’d be and more. They listened to me very well and didn’t fight back like my old helicopter wings would. They were so easy to control and before long we found our groove and I was as close to ecstasy as one could get outside in the snow.

Actually…

So I conclude my Sunday blog post, content, exhausted, and incredibly satisfied with a wonderful day.

I love Vancouver, I love my friends, and I love my skis.

File this under Fribble again.

Mandy, bunny, this one’s for you: My skis arrived on Monday. Today bindings were mounted, and I smiled my way into a free tune-up. I did say I could try to find the tech a better job though, so it was “all business.” I also bought new poles to match my skis. Frivolous? Totally. Do I care? I’m sorry, no!

Anyway, my ski bunny (Mandy) and I are going skiing this Sunday. We’ll have matching skis and be “those skiers” but man .. I don’t really care. These things are sexy!

I mean, if I were a set of skis, I’d have a total crush on mine.

</ fribble>

Sunday was the last day I would spend on my blasted Rossignols. In a way it was a bittersweet goodbye. I mean, they’ve served me well over the last five years. Season after season. I wasn’t picky back then – until I hit the hills of Vancouver and area. This is when I realized I’d be singing Escape (The Pina Colada Song) to a new set of skis before long.

It was a nice Cypress day. The snow was granular though and thus very fast. However, I enjoy the speed, the wind in my hair, the swish of the snow. Given the fact that the weather was less than sunny Mandy and I made the best of it by making skiing videos.

Everything must be documented when you’re around moi. I always wondered why Mandy spent so much time putting on make up before we went skiing. I tell her these videos will be a good supplemental for stories later on in life.

Take One.

Yea, grandma was a hip broad.

Chairlift chick chat

Cypress Parking = Lesson Learned

(ha : would you believe we’re in our 30s? must be the Ontario water)

I must say, what a rejuvenating day at Cypress. I have no injuries to report. Mind you, I was not flirting with the jumps like I thought I might. They called me but I passed them by and waved. I did the moguls though, and my knees and I had a bit of an argument afterward. I’m in an official fight with my shit skis. I don’t know what I was thinking when I got them .. wait a minute I probably wasn’t .. the things are long enough for a giraffe. Talk about 1980′s called, they want their skis back. Mandy’s skis are petite and fit for a little lady like myself. I want to carve and dominate the moguls, I want to carve sharp and tight. I just want to carve!

No matter though. I’m making the best of this predicament as the moments spent with my tree branches become more and more precariously unpredictable. This week my ski buddy and I may check out the deals on West 4th. I’m on a mission for good skis. In Ontario, it wasn’t as imperative, the hills were as good as my skis. But here, I’m no match for these mountains on my clumsy airplane wings.

The day was beyond perfection. The sun beat down on us all day long plugged brightly into an electric blue sky. No clouds just blue beyond.

I liked today because it was a “leisurely skiing day.” Neither of us were in a rush to beat it down to the bottom. In fact we spent quite a bit of time at the top of the mountain lying in the sun with the rest of the lazy skiers and snowboarders. We called today our 6-hour vacation for fifty-three dollars.

I had a bit of an issue once just after taking off on the chairlift. Someone did not read up on Chairlift Bar Etiquette and slammed it down onto my head. Mandy, my trusty body guard made some remark about “It’s always nice to have a warning.” and the couple instantly started up a conversation in a foreign language. I never …

I’m okay though. Thanks for asking.

This is short tonight for my bed calls to me right now. It’s been a busy weekend. Tiring, but oh so uplifting, beautiful, energizing, and just plain fantastic (oxymoron).